What if the Oklahoma City Bombing was not planned by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols? It was one of the biggest domestic terrorist attacks in America. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were helped by middle eastern terrorist groups to commit the Oklahoma City Bombing.
On April 19, 1995, at 9:02 am the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed. The bombing left 168 people, including nineteen children dead and over 680 people injured. Many infants were killed in the bombing including a three-month-old (www.ducksters.com/history/us_1900s/oklahoma_city_bombing.php.). Flying pieces of glass caused most of the injuries from the blast (www.ducksters.com/history/us_1900s/oklahoma_city_bombing.php.). The bombing blew off the entire north
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wall of the building (www.history.com/topics/oklahoma-city-bombing.), and damaged more than 300 buildings in a 48 square block area. The bomb used was very similar to the bomb used in the World Trade Center Bombing. It was made of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil and weighed almost 5,000 (www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=OK026.). The explosion left a twenty-foot-wide, eight-foot-deep hole in the street (www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0419.html.). On April 21, 1995 an eyewitness led authorities to charge Timothy McVeigh (www.history.com/topics/oklahoma-city-bombing.). He was seen at McDonald’s 24 minutes before he rented the Ryder truck from Elliott’s Body Shop in Junction City, Kansas (www.thesecrettruth.co.uk/secret/oklahoma_city_bombing_outline.html.). The bombing was traced to McVeigh from the axle of the truck used in the bombing. The axle of the Ryder truck that McVeigh rented with the serial number on it was found blocks away from the building (“Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing.” Dir. History Channel. A&E Television Networks, New Video, 2004. DVD). Once they tracked down Timothy McVeigh, they found out that he was already in jail. He was stopped a little more than an hour after the bombing for a traffic violation, and then he was arrested for unlawfully carrying a handgun (www.history.com/topics/oklahoma-city-bombing.). Terry Nichols surrendered the same day in Herington, Kansas (www.history.com/topics/oklahoma-city-bombing.). Timothy McVeigh was born in New York.
After his parents divorced, he moved in with his father (“Oklahoma City Bombing: As We Watched.” Dir. Max Culhane. 2016. Television documentary). When he had moved in with his father he took up a very strong interest in guns and survival (“Oklahoma City Bombing: As We Watched.” Dir. Max Culhane. 2016. Television documentary). Timothy McVeigh wore a T-Shirt that said “Sic semper tyrannis,” which is Latin for “Thus always to tyrants (www.ducksters.com/history/us_1900s/oklahoma_city_bombing.php.). McVeigh joined the army, where he met his partner that helped him with the bombing, Terry Nichols. Both men were apart of a radical right-wing survivalist group based in Michigan …show more content…
(www.history.com/topics/oklahoma-city-bombing.). McVeigh had a few motivations for the bombing.
The Turner Diaries by William Luther Pierce was one McVeigh’s favorite books according to his sister. It is about the need to protect ourselves from the federal government. This book was where he got the idea of using a truck to hold the bomb. Some of the other motivations for the bombing were Ruby Ridge and the Waco Siege (www.theguardian.com/world/2001/may/06/mcveigh.usa.). He felt it was proof of the need to protect ourselves from the government and it made him very angry. McVeigh wrote letters from death row. These letters were sent to Bob Papovich, one of Timothy McVeigh’s friends (www.theguardian.com/world/2001/may/06/mcveigh.usa.). In one of the letters McVeigh had written about his motivation for the bombing he said, “federal actions grew increasingly militaristic and violent, to the point where at Waco, our government - like the Chinese - was deploying tanks against its own citizens (www.theguardian.com/world/2001/may/06/mcveigh.usa.).” In another letter he said, “When the post-inferno investigations and inquiries by the Executive and Legislative branches of government concluded that the federal government had done nothing fundamentally wrong during the raid of the Branch Davadians at Waco, the system not only failed the victims who died during that siege but also failed the citizens of this country. This failure in effect left the door open for more Wacos
(www.theguardian.com/world/2001/may/06/mcveigh.usa.).” He continues to show his anger by writing, “Some time after the fact they received awards, bonus pay and in some cases promotions for their disgusting and inhumane actions at Waco and Ruby Ridge (www.theguardian.com/world/2001/may/06/mcveigh.usa.).” McVeigh closes the letter by saying, “It was in this climate then, that I reached the decision to go on the offensive - to put a check on government abuse of power where others have failed in stopping the federal juggernaut run amok (www.theguardian.com/world/2001/may/06/mcveigh.usa.).” Timothy McVeigh was convicted on June 2, 1997 for eleven counts of murder, conspiracy, and using a weapon of mass destruction (www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/oklahoma-city-bombing-fast-facts/index.html.). His trial began on April 24, 1997 in Denver, Colorado (www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/oklahoma-city-bombing-fast-facts/index.html.). The death penalty was formally imposed on August 14, 1997 (www.history.com/topics/oklahoma-city-bombing.). For his last meal, Timothy McVeigh requested two pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream (“Oklahoma City Bombing: As We Watched.” Dir. Max Culhane. 2016. Television documentary). McVeigh was executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001. Terry Nichols was convicted on federal charges of conspiracy and eight counts of involuntary manslaughter. His trial began in McAlester, Oklahoma on November 2, 1997 (www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/oklahoma-city-bombing-fast-facts/index.html.). He was found guilty in Oklahoma state court on 161 counts of murder. Nichols was sentenced to life in prison. The jury spent five hours deliberating before announcing the verdict (www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/oklahoma-city-bombing-fast-facts/index.html.). District Judge Steven Taylor sentenced Terry Nichols to 161 consecutive life terms with no possibility of parole (www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/oklahoma-city-bombing-fast-facts/index.html.). He is serving his sentence in the Supermax federal prison in Florence, Colorado (www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/oklahoma-city-bombing-fast-facts/index.html.). Michael Fortier knew about the bombing. He was sentenced to twelve years in prison for not telling authorities about the plan for the bombing on May 27, 1998 (www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=OK026.). On August 8, 1998, Fortier testified against McVeigh and Nichols in exchange for a shorter sentence (www.history.com/topics/oklahoma-city-bombing.). He was released in 2007 (www.history.com/topics/oklahoma-city-bombing.). Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were helped by middle eastern terrorist groups to commit the Oklahoma City Bombing. Six eye witnesses say they saw middle eastern men looking men at/around the building before and after the bombing (“Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing.” Dir. History Channel. A&E Television Networks, New Video, 2004. DVD). The first eye witness said that two men of Arabian descent running from they building at approximately 9 am and got into a pickup truck. The second eye witness said that she was almost hit by a truck blocks from the building. Ten or more eye witnesses said they saw two middle eastern men in the area of the building at the time of the bombing (“Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing.” Dir. History Channel. A&E Television Networks, New Video, 2004. DVD). Workers at Elliott’s Body Shop say that they saw McVeigh and a middle eastern man rent the truck used in the bombing. The man with Timothy McVeigh was called John Doe 2 (“Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing.” Dir. History Channel. A&E Television Networks, New Video, 2004. DVD). An eye witness named Dina Bradley was looking out of the window of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building before the bombing. She claimed to see John Doe 2 get out of the truck just a little bit before the bomb went off to do something in the back of the truck and then he walked up the street. On May 20, the hunt for John Doe 2 stopped when the arrested McVeigh (“Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing.” Dir. History Channel. A&E Television Networks, New Video, 2004. DVD). The bomb used was very similar to the World Trade Center bomb. People were not sure if McVeigh and Nichols were smart enough to make their own bomb (“Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing.” Dir. History Channel. A&E Television Networks, New Video, 2004. DVD). Their friends say that they had no experience with bombs and that their bomb making skills were feeble at best (“Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing.” Dir. History Channel. A&E Television Networks, New Video, 2004. DVD). Terry Nichols gained knowledge about the bombing from middle eastern terrorist groups. William Jaspar makes a charge that Terry Nichols had ties to Al-Qaeda (“Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing.” Dir. History Channel. A&E Television Networks, New Video, 2004. DVD). He met with Islamic terrorists including Al-Qaeda in the Philippines. Nichols was meeting with key individuals who were prosecuted for the World Trade Center bombing. He made at least five trips to to the Philippines between 1990-1995 (“Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing.” Dir. History Channel. A&E Television Networks, New Video, 2004. DVD). Nichols claimed the reason for making so many trips was to find a Filipino bride. He found a nineteen year old wife. They got married in 1990. He brought her to the U.S. as a cover story. Nichols wanted to learn how to make bombs. According to a Philippines police source he continued to travel to the Philippines by himself for several years (“Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing.” Dir. History Channel. A&E Television Networks, New Video, 2004. DVD). Nichols had ties to a Muslim terrorist group that was financed by Al-Qaeda (“Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing.” Dir. History Channel. A&E Television Networks, New Video, 2004. DVD). His meetings in the Philippines were for training in the making and handling of bombs. Nichols’ wife went to college in Cebu City. At this college Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, who was the mastermind behind the World Trade Center bombing, was known to recruit new terrorists. His wife said it was his idea for her to go that college (“Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing.” Dir. History Channel. A&E Television Networks, New Video, 2004. DVD). Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were able to complete this terror attack with help from middle eastern terrorist groups and people like Ramzi Ahmed Yousef. With the help from these experienced people they got everything that they needed. From the bomb making skills to the financial help they needed to get the materials for the bombing.
In unit six we learned about anthropology and entomology and how forensic scientist use it different cases. Even though entomology was not that useful in The Oklahoma bombing case, anthropology was extremely useful for identifying the victims. Since it was an explosion, Forensic anthropologist had to study different remains of the victim's body and use different techniques (such as examining bone development) to identify who they were. For example, the death toll was originally 169 people (one person higher) than it is now because of an unidentified left leg was found and they couldn’t find the body it originally came from. Later, medical examiners compared the size of the tibia of the leg to other victims right leg. Finally forensic found
On September 11, 2001, the Islamic extremist group, al-Qaeda hijacked four american airlines. “Two of the airlines crashed into the world trade center in New York The third plane crashed into the Pentagon outside the world trade center, and the fourth plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania” (9/11 Attacks). They called it a suicide attack against United States, but there are conspiracy theories the the terrorist are still alive. That they stole
From there, an investigation was conducted and agents found traces of chemicals on McVeigh’s clothing, similar to the ones from the bomb. They learned that McVeigh’s plan was due to the anger over the events at the Waco Siege two years earlier. The bombing investigation was one of the most exhaustive in FBI history; “the Bureau had conducted more than 28,000 interviews, followed some 43,000 investigative leads, amassed three-and-a-half tons of evidence, and reviewed nearly a billion pieces of information.” (FBI.com) The Oklahoma City bombing was “considered the worst and the largest terrorist act ever committed on U.S. soil.”
Wheeler, Tim. "McVeigh could tell some tales." People's Weekly World [New York] 26 May 2001, National
There were several conspiracies about the planes that attacked the Twin Towers. One of the planes left Boston's Logan Airport at 7:59 a.m. The hijackers zoomed the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. The other plane left Logan Airport at 8:14 a.m. The hijackers flew the plane into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m. America had stated that 10 planes were suppose to be hijacked on that day. “Providing new details on the planning of the plot, the commission staff said that al-Qaida planner Khalid Shaihk Mohammed initially proposed a Sept. 11 attack involving 10 planes that would be used to attack CIA and FBI headquarters, unidentified nuclear plants and tall buildings in California and Washington state,” (Brunker). Both planes that flew into the Twin Towers were Boeing 767. The plane was 159 feet long. Another thing that seemed odd was that 9,700 gallons when it should usually have nothing less than 14,000 gallons. The engine was found on Murray Street when it should have been right around the Tower. Things were said about the plane being like a missile since the engine was dropped so far from the Towers. According to German TV footage, the planes front nozzle was caught on fire before going through the building. Conspiracy theories state that there were three things attached to the plan that were likely to explode. After the plane went into the building the plan some how exploded making it look like a missile went into the building or some how it was some sort of bomb. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, drew out the plane and the way the plane was flown into the Towers and it did not seem right. The plane propellers of the Boeing 757 were smaller than the hole it actuall...
On April 19, 1995 two former US Soldiers blew up a the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing over 150 people. Bill Clinton, President of the United States at that time, wrote a speech where he shared his sympathy for the friends and family of victims and united the country through his use of parallelism, patriotic language, and inclusive wording.
A review of Timothy McVeigh and the bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City reveal that McVeigh grew up the All-American boy, who grew increasingly dissatisfied with the level of governmental control of individual’s freedoms and constitutional rights specifically the Second Amendment which afforded citizens the right to bear arms. A known gun collector and survivalist, McVeigh taking direction from the novel “The Turner Diaries” grew more paranoid in his perception of the government’s stance on gun control and the anti-semitic views expressed by the novel’s neo-Nazi author William Pierce who wrote of race wars and the bombing of a federal building. (BIO).
But Harris and Klebold planned for a year and dreamed much bigger. The school served as means to a grander end, to terrorize the entire nation by attacking a symbol of American life. Their slaughter was aimed at students and teachers, but it was not motivated by resentment of them in particular. Students and teachers were just convenient quarry, what Timothy McVeigh described as "collateral damage."” Harris and Klebold could’ve chosen any place to stage their bombing as it wasn’t about the school. The school had absolutely nothing to do with their intentions, it was just an opportunity to do what they dreamed of doing. They had no intention of starting a school shooting as was stated in the same article as above, “The killers, in fact, laughed at petty school shooters. They bragged about dwarfing the carnage of the Oklahoma City bombing and originally scheduled their bloody performance for its anniversary. Klebold boasted on video about inflicting "the most deaths in U.S. history." Columbine was intended not primarily as a shooting at all, but as a bombing on a massive scale…. It wasn 't just "fame" they were after… they were gunning for devastating infamy on the historical scale of an Attila the Hun. Their vision was to create a nightmare so devastating and apocalyptic that the entire world would shudder at their power.”
minds of many and all of America would be listening to his reaction to the
The two victims said that they were not involved in terrorist groups, but during the investigation they had visited some Al- Qaeda websites to plan out the bombing. Al- Qaeda is an Islamist group that was found by Osama bin Laden in the 1980s. Al- Qaeda is the same group that did the terroist attacks on September 11, 2001. Al- Qaeda means "the base". In 2010, the Al- Qaeda's magazine had a step by step to make a pressure cooker bomb. The brothers were planning to do some of the same acts in New York City.
As us Americans we are actually making the stereotype of we always carry guns around sound true to the rest of the world considering that, we are the “31% percent of all public mass shootings which at least four people are killed.” (TheWeek.com) But under a broader definition USA counted 346 mass shootings including shooting deaths of four or more victims in a 17- year period. The worst part about this information is this year we already have recorded 249 mass shootings in about 7 months close to the same amount USA counted over 17 years! This is a problem that must be solve for the safety in this country but also prevent more mass shooting from happening. “According to a Mother Jones study: Only 23 percent have been treated for mental illness.” ( Gallagher )
On September 11, 2001 terrorists crashed two American airline airplanes into Twin Towers, killing thousands of people. It was the worst terrorist attack in American history and it showed us that we are not protected by Atlantic and Pacific. It showed us that we could be attacked by anyone at anytime. It showed us that if we will be attacked again that we can only depend on each other and not on other nations to help us. The 9/11 changed people forever, some lost family members or friends, others lost their jobs even so called “American Dream.”
In December, 1607, Captain George Kendall was the first known person to be executed in the territory, now known as the United States of America. Captain Kendall was shot by firing squad, accused of spying against the British for Spain (Green, 2005). On July 7, 1865 on the site of the current Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., four people including the first female to be executed, Mary Surratt, were hanged for co-conspiring with John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln (Swanson; Weinberg, 2006). More recently, Timothy McVeigh was executed on June 11, 2001 for the April, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that killed 168 people including 19 children and injuring hundreds more (2004). These are just a few of the thousands of examples where justice had been served, for the despicable offenses these criminals inflict on the innocent.
First, Osama Bin Laden, a dangerous terrorist claims that he caused the attacks to happen(Time). Some people could say, that the government could have paid him to admit to the attacks, but I say no because, it doesn't sound like anything the government would do, if it was the government I think they would own it. In a video released to the public, it shows him, and he admits to the attacks. If a terrorist admits to these attacks, why would the government have done this.The terrorists
There are many different types of school violence. The one that gets the most public attention is school shootings. The term school shooting is basically defined as an act where a student, school staff member, or intruder from the outside commits an act on the school campus. One of the most well known school shootings took place at Columbine High School near Littleton, Colorado. On a Tuesday April 20,1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, students at Columbine High School, took the lives of thirteen other students before taking the lives of their own. When we think of events like this, we have many questions that go through our mind. Thoughts like why did this happen, could it have been prevented, and how did impact the individuals involved just to name a few. There are probably several more thoughts that go through the minds of a nation when we hear about traumatic evens such as a school shooting.